Ukraine expresses ‘deep concern’ over possible shipment of ballistic missiles from Iran to Russia

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The White House stresses that this would mean a “drastic increase in Iranian support for the Russian war of aggression”

September 7 () –

The Ukrainian government on Saturday criticised the “deepening” of military cooperation between Russia and Iran and expressed “deep concern” over reports of Tehran’s possible shipment of ballistic missiles to Moscow in the midst of the invasion launched in February 2022.

“The deepening of military-technical cooperation between Russia and Iran poses serious threats to the security of not only Ukraine, but also the whole of Europe, the Middle East and the world,” the Ukrainian Foreign Ministry said in a statement posted on its website.

“We call on the international community to increase pressure on Tehran and Moscow in order to protect international peace and security,” he said, before calling on Iran to “prevent any shipment of weapons and military equipment to Russia.”

He also stressed that “for more than two years Ukraine and Ukrainians have suffered daily Russian terrorist attacks with all kinds of lethal weapons, including Iranian-made drones” and added that Tehran “must demonstrate with actions, not words, the sincerity of the statements of its political leadership about its non-involvement in feeding the deadly Russian war machine.”

“We warn the government in Tehran that if the transfer of ballistic missiles from Iran to the Russian Federation is confirmed, this will have devastating consequences for bilateral relations between Ukraine and Iran,” he said, in response to reports from several media outlets about this possibility.

US and European officials cited by the Wall Street Journal on Friday said Iran has sent short-range ballistic missiles to Russia amid an escalation of its military offensive in eastern Ukraine.

White House National Security Council spokesman Sean Savett said Friday that “any transfer of ballistic missiles by Iran to Russia would imply a dramatic increase in Iranian support for Russia’s war of aggression against Ukraine.”

“We have been warning of the deepening security alliance between Russia and Iran since the start of the large-scale invasion of Ukraine and we are alarmed by this information,” he said, according to the Voice of America radio station, although neither Iran nor Russia have yet commented on the matter.